"Talking to yourself out loud helps boost brainpower and could indicate higher intelligence"

Those who speak to themselves while focusing on a task do better than those who stay quiet, experts at Bangor University found.

Psychologists at the university gave 28 people a set of written instructions and asked them to read them either silently or out loud before measuring their concentration and performance.

They found when people read instructions out loud, their brains absord more of the material than if they only use their inner dialogue.

Dr Paloma Mari-Beffa, senior lecturer in neuropsychology and cognitive psychology, said: “Our results demonstrated that, even if we talk to ourselves to gain control during challenging tasks, performance substantially improves when we do it out loud.

“Talking out loud, when the mind is not wandering, could actually be a sign of high cognitive functioning.